NEW YORK, NEW YORK, November 20, 2008-- The International Photographic Council (IPC), a non-governmental organization of the United Nations, has bestowed its highest honor-- the annual Hall of Fame Award --upon Michihiro Yamaki, chairman and CEO of Sigma Corporation. The award honors legendary contributors to the photographic industry.

Michihiro Yamaki is the founder and chief executive officer of Sigma Corporation, in Tokyo, Japan. He serves as a director of the Photographic Society of Japan and a supervisor of the Japan Camera Industry Institute.

Yamaki was president of the Japan Photographic Enterprises Association for 16 years, served as a councilor of the Japan Machinery Design Center for 12 years, and has been a director of the Japan Optomechatronics Association for 23 years.

He was named chief executive officer of the Sigma Corporation in 2005. Yamaki received the Photo Industry Award from Amateur Photographer in 1989, was appointed honorary chairman of the Japan Photographic Enterprises Association in 1990, named to PMA's Hall of Fame in 1994, and received the IPC Leadership Award in 1998. He has been a member of the Tokyo Komae Rotary Club for more than three decades, serving as its president in 1989.

A presentation will be held during the IPC Annual New Year's Luncheon at the United Nations in New York City on February 12, 2009. The UN Under-Secretary General of the Department of Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka will deliver the opening remarks. Bill McCurry, chairman of McCurry Associates, will present the keynote address. IPC 2008 Hall of Fame award recipient Paul Harmel, chairman and CEO of Lifetouch, Inc., will introduce Yamaki.

The International Photographic Council (IPC) is a multinational non-governmental organization of the United Nations, composed of representatives from every major sector of the photography industry.

Founded in 1974, IPC is dedicated to increasing worldwide recognition of photography as a universal means of communication through the adoption of a motto, "Peace Through Understanding, Understanding Through Photography, the Universal Language." For more information, visit www.ipc-un-ngo.org.